title: Maternal awareness of young children's physical activity: levels and cross-sectional correlates of overestimation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Factors associated with parental awareness of children's physical activity (PA) levels have not been explored in preschool-aged children. This paper investigates maternal awareness of preschool-aged children's PA levels and determined correlates associated with maternal overestimation of PA.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from the Southampton Women's Survey, a UK population-based study, were collected March 2006 through June 2009. Daily minutes of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) were derived using accelerometry in 478 4-year-old children. Mothers who were realistic or overestimated their child's PA were identified. Log-binomial regression was used to analyse correlates of maternal overestimation of PA levels in children whose mothers perceived them to be active (n = 438).
  
  
  RESULTS
  40.8% of children were classified as inactive: 89.7% of these were perceived to be active by their mothers (over-estimators). These mothers were more likely to think their child sometimes lacked skills required to be physically active (RR (95% CI) = 1.29(1.03-1.63)) and their child was more likely to attend nursery full-time (RR = 1.53(1.14-2.04)). They were less likely to have older children at home (RR = 0.71(0.56-0.90)).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Almost 90% of mothers of inactive preschool-aged children perceive their child to be active. Nursery-school attendance and having older siblings at home may be important to consider when designing behavioural interventions to increase PA in preschool children.
authors.affiliation: UKCRC Centre for Diet and Activity Research, Institute of Public Health, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. krh40@medschl.cam.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Kathryn R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Hesketh
authors.forename: Alison M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: McMinn
authors.forename: Simon J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Griffin
authors.forename: Nicholas C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Harvey
authors.forename: Keith M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Godfrey
authors.forename: Hazel M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Inskip
authors.forename: Cyrus
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.forename: Esther M F
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: van Sluijs
mesh_terms: D061725:Accelerometry; D000328:Adult; D001364:Awareness; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires